


Just Watch Me

by ToothPasteCanyon (DannyFenton123)



Series: Transcendence AU [23]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26839120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyFenton123/pseuds/ToothPasteCanyon
Summary: Someone is breaking into New Angeles' museums. Nobody knows where she came from. Nobody knows who she is. But they know the headlines she makes, and maybe, that's enough.This is for the 2020 annual TAUthon!
Series: Transcendence AU [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1472837
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24
Collections: Transcendence AU Ficathon 2020





	Just Watch Me

**Author's Note:**

> A big thanks to StarlightSystem for betaing this story!

The New Angeles Museum of Art. With its glass walls and curved steel roof striking a unique figure amongst its more conventional neighbours, it looked something like an art installation itself. Tonight, a misty fog had settled between the city blocks, and the bright lights within shone out with a ghostly glow; inside, there were still a smattering of guests wandering around the exhibits.

The exhibits. A figure in a longsleeved shirt lingered on the street corner, holding a cigarette with trembling fingers and eyeing the jewelry kept under glass and guard. One of the guards caught her watching; she smiled at him, and he gave a quick smile back before he looked away.

Once his eyes were elsewhere, the figure took a drag of the cigarette, and walked a little further away from the windows. She leant against a steel pillar, watching people pass by. This street wasn’t too crowded, especially this late at night, and it ebbed and flowed. Sometimes, there were gaps. Brief periods of time where no one was walking past, no one was there but the figure.

…

That gap was too brief.

That one, too.

…

A slight gap, but there was a big crowd on the other side.

The cigarette burned slowly, patiently. The figure waited, making sure to keep a smile on their face in case they caught anyone else’s eye.

…

This one, coming up. A couple college students passed by the figure, and after that… nothing. No one. No witnesses. Just the fog, and the figure, and the looming museum roof far above.

She pulled herself up from the wall, and extinguished the last of her cigarette. It sat on her palm for a moment; she stared at it, and suddenly it started compacting, crushing itself up into a tiny ashen pellet that could fit on a fingernail. She pocketed it, and then gave a grin. Cracked her knuckles. Glanced one last time down the streets, and then-

And then she jerked her arms up and launched herself into the sky. She was far above the street, far above the museum, and she started falling, falling faster, falling faster, headed right for the roof-

_ Stop. _

She held her hands out, and her feet stopped inches from the steel. She relaxed, and stepped down onto it without making a sound. Quickly, she stripped; underneath her shirt and jeans was a black wetsuit, and she unzipped the front to retrieve a small bag of tools she’d hidden against her stomach.

She crushed her old clothes down and stuffed them into that, and put on a pair of snorkeling goggles. Then she took a moment to check that everything was in there, located the skylight, and gave a grin.

Showtime.

She tiptoed over to the skylight, and looked down. It led into a white hallway - one that was closed to the public while they switched to a new exhibit, she knew. If she angled her head until it was almost touching the roof, she could make out a staff door at the end of the hall, and the black base of a camera on the roof.

The figure dug into her bag, drew out a thin metal wire, bent the end, and then wiggled it into the edge of the frame. It wasn’t easy; the wire was flimsy, and the tremor in her hands didn’t help, but she punched through and started running it along the edge, holding her hand out and testing it, until-

_ Pop. _ The window was shoved down by the force of her magic, and it swung right into the camera and collided with the sound of shattering glass. The broken frame clattered against the floor, and quick as lightning the figure launched herself down the hallway. She didn’t land so smoothly this time, but she picked herself up and positioned herself behind the staff door. She grinned at the mess, at the scratched-out wards on the ceiling beside the skylight. Someone was bound to come running.

She didn’t have to wait long. Two guards burst through the staff door, and she slipped in behind them. Suddenly, the museum looked a whole lot more office-like, with grey carpet and cream walls. There was a camera facing right at her; she scuffed the wards laid down by the baseboard, and looked around in confusion when the two guards ran back in and pointed tasers at her.

“Stop right there!”

“Whoa…” She said, in a sort of dazed voice. “This ain’t the beach.”

“Put your hands up!”

“You know NLA beach, right? Where you can jump right off into the ocean?”

“NLA- what?” The guard cocked his head. “There’s no beach on-”

He aimed and shot the camera. It went off with a  _ bang; _ sparks exploded everywhere, and the other guard jumped back

“Whoa- what the  _ fuck, _ Jared!”

He looked stunned. “I didn’t do that!”

The figure took off screaming.

“Hey! Wait!”

She ran around the corner, and took the keycard she’d ripped from his belt. Levitating it out in front of her, she swiped it, and flung herself into the security office.

“Whoa!” Three guards jumped up at the sight of her; one moved to stop her but she collided with him and tumbled down on the far end of the office. “What’s going on?! What are you doing in here?”

“Ow…” She scooted up against the wall. “My leg hurts.”

“...Take her into custody. We need to find out what happened here.” The guard rubbed his head. “And phone Matt, we need to... need to report… need to…”

The guard trailed off, stumbled, and one by one they all collapsed on the floor, completely unconscious. The figure rose with a grin, wiping warding ink off their palms.

“Alright!” She waved a hand, and they all gently floated over to the corner. “Terribly sorry for the inconvenience, guys. I’ll be done in just a second.”

There was a banging against the door as she took a seat in front of the security system; she held it closed with a thought. The camera screens were all laid out before her, jewels in plain view, and she gave a wide grin.

“Okay, PA system… where are you… oh, bingo!” She levitated the mic up to her face. “Hello, hello, testing one two three!”

The guests all seemed to look up at the noise. She chuckled.

“Seems to be working. Hi, guys! Just here to make an announcement, that, uh, if you wanna take one last look at tonight’s beautiful exhibits, you got about fifteen more seconds before I’m taking the lot!” She ran a finger over a panel of switches. “Or, uh, however long it takes me to find the controls - just enjoy yourselves, alright? This is a chill robbery. We’re chill.”

The guests were screaming and piling through the exit. She sniffed.

“Well, I’m chill, anyway. Aha!” She found the warding breakers, flicked them all off, and sat back. “Got you! Alright, now it’s time for the real show!”

She focused hard on the video feeds. The display boxes seemed to tremble, and a high-pitched whine started up before-  _ bang! _ Glass exploded into confetti shards all over the main floor, and about twenty alarms went off at once. She raised a hand, and all the jewelry began to rise into the air.

With a flick of the wrist, they smashed through a side window - off camera. She frowned and kept her hand out, concentrating, concentrating. She could hear police sirens in the distance, and louder and louder bangs coming from the office door; it was time to go.

She rose slowly, and walked towards the side wall. She put her free hand on it, and pushed; a person-sized section of brick gave way with minimal effort, and she poked her head outside. The jewels - they were in sight again, a disorganised hovering cloud that clumped into a neater arrangement as soon as she laid eyes on them. She opened her bag, and little more than a flick of the wrist deposited them inside. This haul was heavy; she lost her balance, and quickly launched herself onto the next building over so she didn’t topple into the alleyway.

There, she regained her footing, and saw the flashing lights of police cars pulling up to the front. She jumped back onto the museum’s roof, and started hopping across the rooftops that way, launching herself from building to building until she had to stop and take a breather.

The museum was reasonably far away now. She opened her bag, and grinned at the glint of gold before she brought out her old clothes. She hid the bag under her wetsuit again, then dressed back into her shirt and jeans and dropped down into an alleyway. People paid her no mind as she slipped back into the crowds; if anyone saw her smile as she checked her phone, they thought nothing of it.

The first news reports were coming in.

**‘BREAKING NEWS: Reports of Break-in at NLA Transcendence History Museum, Shattered Glass’**

**‘Reported Explosion at NLA History Museum’**

**‘This Just In: Break-in at NLA Transcendence History Museum, Shattered Glass, Police Responding’**

Okay, they weren’t very exciting yet. She’d give it a-

Her vision started pulsating. Suddenly everything was spinning. She stopped and fumbled with her phone until she had it pressed against her chest, and stood there swaying for a moment as everything was blinding and blurry, as pins and needles crept up  _ her legs and there was a lightness in her head like she was going to faint, going to faint right now, going to… _

_...slowly, slowly, _ it subsided, leaving a dull, foggy ache in her mind. She felt her heart rate settle down, and rolled her eyes.

“We’re gonna be like this right now, huh.” She leaned against a building and pawed her phone open. “Fine. Guess I’ll call a taxi.”

A police car barrelled past her as she googled the number. That brought a smile back to her face, and as the taxi took her down darker streets and older buildings, she kept an eye on the news.

**Disaster Strikes the Art World: Another Private Collection Reported Stolen in Brazen Heist, Police Release Preliminary Sketch of Suspect**

She checked, and burst out laughing. It looked… a little rough, okay? Especially around the nose and eyes; it looked nothing like her there.

“Something funny, ma’am?”

That came from the taxi driver. She looked up sharply.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, haha. Just texting my mom.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Yeah.” Quickly she cleared her throat. “Yeah, she’s, uh, funny… So anyway my stop’s coming up, right? Yeah, it’s right over here!”

“Looks like it is.”

“Alright, sweet!” She took out a guard’s wallet and tipped him a twenty. “You have a great night, man.”

Then she stepped off, onto cracked pavements beneath flickering streetlamps. The bag under her wetsuit weighed her down as she crossed a patchy lawn, and climbed slowly up the steps of her apartment. Her room was three floors up; she reached it, snorted at the keyhole, and unlocked it with her mind.

It was a small place that she stepped into. The lights flicked on, revealing a sofa and TV crammed onto a small patch of carpet and takeout boxes strewn across her oven.

They also revealed a yellow puddle right in front of the door, and she wrinkled her nose.

“Ugh, seriously? Fluffy, come here now!’

There was no response.

“Mr Fluffington, I know it was you!” She shut the door and started looking under tables. “What, you think  _ I _ peed on the floor? I don’t think so, buster! Get your butt out here!”

There came a hissing sound from the oven. She glanced over, and dashed over when smoke started puffing out of it.

“Hey, hey, you’re gonna set off the smoke alarm!” She opened the oven door and started waving the smoke away. “Now, what do you have to say for yourself? Huh?”

There, curled up on the metal rack, was a baby purple dragon. Fluffy was about the size of a housecat, with soft wings that barely moved when it puffed itself up, and sharp, needle-like teeth. She saw him bare them at her, and snorted as she scooped him into her arms.

“I missed you too, you grump.” Fluffy settled against her as she walked him over to the puddle. “Now, what is this? Huh?”

All she got was a low rumble.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Hm… maybe I need to take you out more?” She felt him shift, and let him scamper out of her arms. “I’ll take that as a yes. Ugh, I wish you’d fit in a dog costume.”

Fluffy padded through the bedroom door, and she rubbed her shoulder. Yeah, she wanted to take all this stuff off already… just one thing she had to do before that. The kitchen cupboards opened, and she levitated a paper towel and some cleaner into her hands.

She dealt with the puddle, took her shirt off, and struggled with the wetsuit’s zipper as she headed into the bedroom. At first glance, the mess looked just as unremarkable as the kitchen’s; there were piles of dirty clothes strewn everywhere, and bedsheets left on the floor.

But here, there were glints. Here, there were paintings on every wall, strangely large paintings with strangely elaborate frames. Here, a dragon was picking old socks off of a nest of golden necklaces; he perked up as she pulled her bag out of her wetsuit.

“You hear something, Fluffy?” The bag jangled when she shook it. “Yeah, that’s right. Sit!”

Fluffy barrelled over to paw at her legs.

‘No, sit. Sit? Si- ugh, you’re lucky you’re cute.” She drew out a chain with a thick golden pendant; there was writing on the front she couldn’t read. “Wow, this stuff… is ugly. Heh, no wonder they put it in a museum, right? Couldn’t find anyone who’d want to wear it!”

Fluffy continued scratching at her, oblivious to her very clever zinger. She rolled her eyes, and dumped the lot onto him.

“Go nuts, buddy.”

He let out an excited puff of smoke as ten or so golden chains rained down on her. Immediately he started dragging them towards his little nest, and she snorted.

“Hope that’s comfy.” She levitated a laptop into her hands and flopped onto her bed, grunted as the springs squeaked. “Probably comfier than my mine, eh?”

She laid there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear some muffled shrieks coming from it; probably the kids who lived upstairs. Her legs tingled a little bit, and she moved them to get rid of the pins and needles.

It was… nice, here. It was quiet enough. She looked over at Fluffy, rumbling contentedly as he arranged his nest, and managed a smile.

Today was a good day. It was.

She knew just what would make it even better.

With a flick of her wrist, she opened her laptop and turned it on. It was a tough old thing, with a thick screen and missing keys, and she tapped the side as it booted. It eventually did, loading up to a browser stuffed with tabs, and she opened one more, typed in ‘museum’, and hit enter.

A grin spread across her face as the news stories loaded. Jackpot. She clicked the first one.

**Transcendence History Museum Theft Likely Connected to Recent String of Museum Robberies**

_ It’s not an unfamiliar sight to NLA police at the Transcendence History Museum tonight. Witnesses describe a sudden, chaotic break-in at around 8:37PM when a woman, said to be in scuba gear, reportedly smashed through the building’s skylight and forced her way into the security office before setting off an explosion in the main lobby. In the ensuing panic, she made off with a number of artifacts; police are still determining what exactly was taken, but it is known that a private collection of ceremonial Alcorian jewelry was on display. The price of the collection as a whole is estimated at- _

“Half a million dollars!” She glanced over at Fluffy. “You hear that? I spoil you!”

He had already fallen asleep. With a chuckle, she kept reading.

_ It’s a bizarre sequence of events, but not a unique one this past year to the Winged City. Just three weeks ago, a smaller collection went missing when a person dressed in a Halloween pirate costume and identifying themselves as ‘Nunya Beeswax’, locked staff out of the gallery and proceeded to try on the exhibits in front of security cameras until police arrived. _

She started giggling. That was a good one.

_ There are many more burglaries that may read off as humourous, but it is important to remember here: these are burglaries. Real people are being harmed. Just tonight, owner of the stolen collection and CEO of FloatBus Mitchell Jark issued a furious statement to... _

She bookmarked the story and clicked off, still chuckling about that pirate costume. Man, she had to do something like that again… what else were they saying about her?

In a little bedroom filled with riches, Matilda Ransen spent the night admiring her glittering headlines. She heard Fluffy’s deep rumble, and smiled to herself - he must be comfy.

He was, in fact, rather comfortable. The dragon curled tightly around one of the new pendants, which had become warm to the touch.

Its inscription, and the symbol of the Dreamer’s Star etched on the back, now glowed a deep, wrathful red.


End file.
